Yankees: Keith Law talks prospects Estevan Florial and Deivi Garcia

On Monday, ESPN prospect guru Keith Law released his annual list of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Unfortunately, only one Yankees farmhands made the cut, with another two falling just outside the rankings.

As we ramp up towards the start of Yankees Spring Training, every outlet and its competitor is releasing their comprehensive list of the top prospects in baseball.

Last week we spoke about Baseball Prospectus’ top 101 and Baseball America’s top 100 prospects in the game. And while outfielder Estevan Florial and pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga made the Prospectus’ rankings, no Yankee farmhand was found on the latter.

Down to 13 days until the official start of camp, Keith Law of ESPN has announced his collection of the top 100 most promising minor leaguers.

Surprisingly enough, Law’s first addition of a Baby Bomber comes at No. 61, in the form of 20-year-old right-handed pitcher Deivi Garcia.

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For Garcia, who signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, this is the first time his name has been associated with the upper echelon of potential future big leaguers.

Though MLB Pipeline won’t re-rank its top 30 prospects for each organization until some time in February, at last check, Garcia sat at No. 11 overall for the Yanks.

Featuring a three-pitch repertoire — high-90s fastball, a “hammer” for a curveball and a developing changeup, Garcia began 2018 in Low-A Charleston but climbed all the way to Double-A Trenton by season’s end.

In 15 starts across three leagues, the diminutive righty (5-foot-9, 163 pounds) went 5-4 with a 2.55 ERA, 0.946 WHIP and 105:20 K:BB ratio across 74 innings pitched.

Law compares Garcia’s ability and build to that of Marcus Stroman and Roy Oswalt, and believes his stuff could allow the Yankees to call him up to the majors at some point in 2019, even if it is as a reliever.

"What comes out of his arm is pretty special, and the Yankees are very sort of track man focused team when it comes to all players. But they love their high spin guys throughout their system. He’s a guy who has that and has command and has control. Which says to me, at least, they’re not going to hesitate to trust him with some kind of Major League job by the end of the year."

As for the Yanks’ reigning No. 1 prospect Estevan Florial, Law ranks him at No. 106 — a far cry from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, which has the 21-year-old Florial at No. 57.

Estimated to arrive in the majors in 2021, Law warned that if Florial — as gifted as he may be, is unable to figure out his issues regarding pitch recognition, he may never reach his full potential. Including his brief time in the Arizona Fall League, Florial struck out a total of 121 times in 459 plate appearances in 2018.

Another name not on any other list is 18-year-old outfielder Everson Pereira. Despite playing only 36 games for Pulaski of the Appalachian League (Rookie ball), Periera is ranked at No. 101.

Previously listed as the Yanks’ No. 13 prospect by MLB Pipeline, in the long run, Pereira may have more upside than Florial. Still raw, with an ETA of 2022, Pereira is believed to have what it takes to become a legit big league leadoff hitter with all the qualities of an excellent center fielder.

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Here’s what MLB.com’s 2018 Prospect Watch had to say about Periera.

"Thanks to his quick, short right-handed swing and impressive hand-eye coordination, he makes line-drive contact with ease. He focuses on using the whole field rather than trying to yank balls out of the park, though he should develop some gap power.Pereira not only has plus speed, he already knows how to use it on the bases and in the outfield. He shows good instincts in center field and has the solid arm strength to fit anywhere in the outfield."

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